November 2008

Regional Window

Middle America and Caribbean

Win

dow

On

the

Wor

ld

Issu

e 11

; Nov

embe

r 200

8

Fast Facts: Mexico, Central America, Pa-

nama, non-US Caribbean islands,

Guyana, French Guiana and Suri-

name

257 Unreached People Groups

178 million lost people

360 IMB missionaries

Religions: Roman Caltholicism,

Hinduism, Islam, Santeria, Voodoo,

animistic tribal religions.

The deaf in Mexico are the largest

UPG

Southern Pocomam of

Guatemala

Population: 42,000

Lang: S. Poqomam

Religion: Animism

Evangelical: 1%

Status: Formative

or nominal church.

Announcements:

November 13th- 7:00pm- Missions Informa-

tion Conference with IMB Candidate Consult-

ant, Joel Sutton

November 18th- Operation Christmas Child

@7:00pm, Bring a shoe box and filler items

and the WMC will provide wrapping and

snacks. For more information about OCC,

check out page 3 of this newsletter.

November 21-22- Missionary Garage Sale-

8:00am-2:00pm- Come support SWBTS stu-

dents as they leave for the Missions Field.

Unless otherwise noted, all events are at the

WMC. Contact Amy Perry ext. 7500 or

[email protected] for more information.

Facts and map from http://www.macregion.org/ People Group Profile Taken From: www.joshuaproject.net

Open Window

Please be in prayer for the former SWBTS students who

recently finished IMB training and are now beginning life in a

new country and ministry.

Pray for the lost people of inner-city Mexico City who are

enslaved by drugs, violence, prostitution, and pornography.

There are few people there working to bring them hope.

Pray for the Hindu population of Suriname. If they convert to

Christianity they are ostracized and rejected by their families.

Pray for boldness of local believers.

Pray for the financial situation in the United States and in the

world, as this can greatly affect the IMB budget and

overseas spending power.

As the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering gets underway this

month, pray that people will give generously, in faith that

God will supply all of their needs and multiply what they give

for His purposes.

Fay, Gustav, Hanna, Ike... It has been a very wet and windy

hurricane season for the island of Hispaniola. Haiti and the

Dominican Republic have experienced flooding, power

outages, and damage to houses, businesses, trees and crops.

But the Lord God has the incredible power to turn affliction

into hope. Pray for God's love to be poured out through His

people on the island of Hispaniola, changing affliction to

hope.

"... but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we

know that affliction produces endurance, endurance

produces proven character, and proven character

produces hope. This hope does not disappoint,

because God’s love has been poured out in our

hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to

us" (HCSB). Romans 5:3-5

Window Blinds The Horse Whisperer

A church planter and a horse whisperer team up to reach cow-

boys in Mexico

On opposite sides of the border, two cowboys heard

God‟s whisper. Down south in Agua Prieta, Mexico, it

took a while for Andy Hill to figure out exactly what God

was saying to him.

“I‟m not the sharpest knife in the drawer,” jokes Andy, an

International Mission Board missionary in this Mexican

border town across form Douglas, Arizona.

When God started speaking to him about reaching

“vaqueros” - Mexican cowboys—Andy tried to push the

idea away at first. “I thought, „Wait a minute. That sounds

like too much fun,‟” he says. “I was afraid it was too much

my idea and not enough God‟s.

But Andy couldn‟t ignore what he and his wife, Lori, no-

ticed about Mexican culture after they arrived in Agua

Prieta as new missionaries four years ago. “Here in Mex-

ico it‟s been said that all men are cowboys at heart,” Andy

relates. “Mexico has a very diverse population, but at the

heart of this country are those roots that they‟ve come

from—that „vaquero‟ culture.” He couldn‟t ignore, either,

the fact that local believers weren‟t reaching the many

“vaqueros” who live and work around Agua Prieta.

Among Christians, “there‟s been an attitude that once you

become a believer, you have to leave anything they con-

sider worldly behind. And that includes things you enjoy

doing,” Andy says. “So if a man is a „vaquero‟, if he has

horses or enjoys those sorts of things, he has to leave all

that stuff, all his old friends, behind. He has to completely

separate himself from that.”

That attitude didn‟t sit well with Andy, who grew up

around horses and cattle on a small farming and ranching

operation near Haskell, Texas. “We‟re told in God‟s

Word to be in the world but not of the world, and you

can‟t be in the world unless you‟re interacting with it,” says

Andy. You can‟t win the lost to Christ, you can‟t live your

testimony in front of them, if you‟re living apart from

them.”

The more Andy lived around „vaqueros‟ in Agua Prieta, the

more he realized God was up to something with them.

Then one day the phone rang. It was Andy‟s missionary

supervisor.

”Andy, have you ever thought about starting „vaquero‟

churches in your area—reaching out to the cowboys?”

Allen asked. . .

For more of this story and how God is using ordinary people‟s gifts

and talents to further His kingdom, check out www.macregion.org.

*

World Events Please use the events to pray appropriately for the participants

Pushkar Camel Fair in India usually takes place for three days surrounding the November full moon. It is now a tourist event,

but at the heart of it is the religious festival, as many saddhu’s bathe in the sacred waters of Pushkar’s lake.

Day of the Dead– November 1st– this holiday is celebrated in many Catholic countries, largely in Mexico. It is a day to vener-

ate the dead and pay homage to them. The real action happens in the cemeteries, where graves are decorated with flow-

ers and sweets, as whole villages descend upon them.

Fireworks Night– November 5th all over England. In homage to Guy Fawkes inability to redecorate the interior of the houses

of parliament in 1605, amateur pyro-enthusiasts set off fireworks displays in practically every garden in England.

St. Martin Festival– November 11th– Catholics and some Protestants all over Europe celebrate in honor of this canonized saint

who is known for giving part of his cloak to a cold beggar and resisting being made bishop by hiding in a goose barn. This

festival manifests itself differently in the customs of different countries. In some countries the children march through the

streets with lanterns, in some they practice ancestor veneration, but in all they eat goose.

The Mombassa Carnival– November 15th in Mombassa Kenya– All of Kenya`s myriad tribes and cultures come together in

one big festival- a celebration of Kenya in all its varied diversity.

Operation Christmas Child

Since 1993, more than 61 million shoe boxes have

been packed, shipped, and delivered across the

globe to children in desperate situations.

OCC Gift Ideas

TOYS

small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, kazoos, har-

monicas, yo-yos, jump ropes, small Etch A Sketch®,

toys that light up or make noise (with extra batteries),

Slinky®, etc.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

pens, pencils and sharpener, crayons or markers,

stamps and ink pad sets, writing pads or paper, solar

calculators, coloring and picture books, etc.

HYGIENE ITEMS

toothbrush, toothpaste, mild bar soap (in a plastic

bag), comb, washcloth, etc.

OTHER

Hard candy and lollipops (please double bag all

candy), mints, gum, T-shirts, socks, ball caps; sun-

glasses, hair clips, toy jewelry, watches, flashlights

(with extra batteries)

DO NOT INCLUDE:

Used or damaged items; war-related items such as

toy guns, knives or military figures; chocolate or food;

out-of-date candy; liquids or lotions; medications or

vitamins; breakable items containers; aerosol cans

A PERSONAL NOTE

In a separate envelope, you may enclose a note to

the child and a photo of yourself or your family.

www.samaritanspurse.org

Local Missions

Filled with a heart for the lost and a desire to learn more about

the Buddhist world view, seven members of the SWBTS family journeyed

to the far land of Arlington, TX to engage in a day of learning and seed

sowing. On Saturday, October 18th, Art Savage and Dr. Keith Eitel led

four students to the Kadampa Meditation Center of Texas in order to

learn about Buddhism and begin establishing relationships with the

monks at the center. The group arrived at the center to find the monks

out gilding Buddha statues to adorn the old church building they had

purchased in order to convert it to a temple. As the group had con-

tacted them before coming, the monks were expecting them and wel-

comed them warmly. Within the center, a monk who had recently con-

verted to Buddhism from a Southern Baptist background kindly shared

with the group about the beliefs of Kadampa Buddhism and the activi-

ties of the center. The monk expressed that they believe all religions

lead to Buddha and that Buddha calls people to himself through differ-

ent religions. He stated that they do not engage in evangelism, but are

willing to teach people about Buddhism as they come into their center.

Many people come to the center to learn breathing techniques and

proper forms of meditation, but few convert to Buddhism. The group

learned a lot about this form of Buddhism from the hospitable monk and

were able to leave him with a tract before they left.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the Hong Kong Market

shopping center on Pioneer Pkwy. After eating lunch in a Vietnamese

Noodle Shop, the team divided into two groups and spread through the

center passing out tracts and New Testaments and talking to shop keep-

ers and shoppers. The materials were well received by most, though the

group was only able to have a few deep conversations with people. Dr.

and Mrs. Eitel received a surprise when they ran into an African man and

were able to share with him in a pidgin language.

Overall, the mini-mission was a valuable experience for the

SWBTS participants and for those they came in contact with. Keep your

eyes open for more events like this through the WMC!

MIRror

Santeria & Roman Catholicism

Written by: Lorri SeGraves

Inseparable For More Than 500 years

It was the first day of class in the fall of

2007 at the Universidad Arturo Michelena

in Valencia Venezuela, when one of my

students arrived dressed completely in

white. He had white shoes, white socks,

white pants, a white shirt…white

everything. It seemed odd at the

moment, but I just thought white was his

“thing” for that day. I quickly realized,

however, that it was his “thing” every

day. For the entire semester, whenever I

saw this young man, he donned his

colorless attire as a testimony to his new

faith. He had become a Santero, and was

fulfilling his vow for a year of

“purification” as part of the discipleship

phase of Santeria.

Santeria is not a new phenomenon. It is

a voodoo based religion whose origin in

Nigeria among the Yoruba people dates

back to the time of Christ. As slaves

were brought to the New World, their

religion came with them, but in most

cases, slave owners quickly required

them to convert to Christianity. Because

of this, many slaves, in an attempt to

retain some of their indigenous beliefs, found a way to fuse elements of Santeria with Catholicism. The result is the

modern day syncretistic combination of religious systems, which allows adherents to worship demonic forces with black

magic under the protective umbrella of the Roman Catholic Church. Santero “Orishas” have conveniently been re-

named for Catholic Patron Saints, and each new convert to Santeria is required to have been baptized first in the RCC.

Santeria is increasing in popularity not only in the Caribbean, and Central & South America, but in the US as well. It has

become such an issue in the US that in 1993 the Supreme Court in the case The Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of

Hialeah ruled against laws that would prohibit the ritual of animal sacrifice in Santeria practices.

Planning to minister in the Caribbean, Central & South America, or even in the United States? Better freshen up on

modern day Catholicism. For a more practical explanation of Santeria practices, beliefs, etc., check out this website

http://w3.iac.net/~moonweb/Santeria/Intro.html. It will put you on the road to better understanding modern Catholicism

and Santeria. It‟s always a good idea to try to gain understanding of a worldview as you design an effective evangelism

approach.

Written by MIR: Lorri SeGraves

Background Photo Taken From: www.ics.uci.edu/~eppstein/pix/aa/dv-swr2.html

c s a a i n a r b a c c r r l r

i n w n t t r i u n i q u e x e

l r r l a x i l t l a n m i h a

b r m m a y g a b p c a a a s c

u e a a u q u u h o n d u r a s

p i c r a i p g x i r o d r r p

e u e t a e a a s c i a i b u x

r c l i r e m r c c d b r h d a

n q s n g e u a o i b b h u n c

a n a i u g h c n e r f r c e a

c c l q a q i i a i t a p d i n

i i v u t x r n m m r b t t m a

n l a e e t c c a m u u m s e a

i a d m m i o e n i a c s x o o

m o o w a t e m a l a i c n h c

o a r n t r r c p n r e f u n i

d o n f a t a m u i a i x n r i

Mexico Guatemala El Salvador Honduras Nicaragua Costa Rica

Panama Cuba Haiti Dominican Republic Martinique Trinidad

Suriname Guyana French Guiana Caribbean

Swag